John Hassett, a junior from George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill, not only won his first individual cross country state championship Saturday but led the Eagles to their first Class C boys team title since 1993.
Scarborough and Freeport successfully defended their 2014 state championship in the two other divisions, Scarborough in Class A and Freeport in Class B.
Hassett, second at states a year ago, completed the hilly 3.1-mile course at the Twin Brook Recreation Area in Cumberland in 16 minutes, 46.18 seconds, a comfortable 27.03 seconds ahead of Class C runner-up Tucker Pierce of Maine Coast Waldorf of Freeport.
Hassett was one of three GSA runners to place among the top 10 finishers as the Eagles shaded North regional and Penobscot Valley Conference small-school champion Orono 60-71.
Junior Ollie Dillon placed seventh overall while senior Will Entwisle was ninth for GSA, while seniors Aylen Wolf (23rd) and Davlin Valle (26th) rounded out the scorers for the champs.
Senior Tristan Butterfield led Orono with a sixth-place finish while junior William O’Neil was 11th, sophomore Matt Keresey 16th, freshman Jonathan Steelman 22nd overall and sophomore Jonathan Spencer 24th.
Houlton junior Isaiah Brown placed 10th in the field of 102 runners.
In Class A, Lewiston senior Osman Doorow posted the fastest time of the day regardless of class (16:17.71) to best runner-up Paul Casavant of Hampden Academy by 13.55 seconds for top individual honors.
Fourth-place Colin Tardiff was one of three Scarborough runners to finish among the top eight as the Capers topped runner-up Falmouth 60-80 to secure their fifth state championship in the last eight years.
Senior Connor Doherty was sixth and classmate Andrew Sholl was eighth for Scarborough, while senior Sean Soucy was Falmouth’s top finisher in 11th place overall.
KVAC and North regional champion Hampden was third with 141 points as led by Casavant, freshman Wyatt Lord (10th) and junior Will Webb (17th).
In Class B, senior Chandler Vincent (16:34.72) and junior Henry Jaques finished 1-2 to lead Freeport to the repeat victory.
The Falcons edged second-place York 52-62, with host Greely third at 80 points behind the 3-4 finishes of seniors Ryan Morrison and Kyle Hansen.
North regional champion Caribou, seeking its first state title since 2010, placed fourth with 131 points. Senior Chathu Karunasiri was 10th overall, and while the Vikings placed their top five runners among the top 30 scorers, Caribou’s five-person pack time of 1:09.77 wasn’t quite enough to crack the top three.
Caleb Love-Webb, a junior from Camden Hills of Rockport, placed eighth among the 110 finishers individually.
The three state championship teams all qualify for the New England championships to be held at Thetford, Vermont, on Nov. 14, as will Falmouth, York and Greely, the next three lowest-scoring teams regardless of class when A, B and C were scored as a single meet.
Also advancing to the New Englands are the three individual race champions and the next fastest 22 runners regardless of class.
